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CenturyLink Customer Service

Phone Number & Contact Info

CenturyLink's Best Phone Number

800-201-4099
Toll-free·Calls Existing Customer Account & Tech Support·Most popular CenturyLink number
Free tools for easier calling
Q:

How do I talk to a live human at CenturyLink?

A:Press 2 then 1. Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at CenturyLink for you.
Q:

Does CenturyLink offer 24 hour customer service?

A:Not at this number; hours here are Mon-Fri 8am-6pm CST. The least busy day is Friday, and the most busy day is Monday. If the call center is closed, you can schedule a call.
Q:

How long will I wait on hold?

A:The average hold time is 4 minutes and 53 seconds. The longest hold times are on Tuesday, and the shortest are on Thursday. You can skip the hold time for free.

CenturyLink Customer Phone Numbers

Order New Service

833-970-4125
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Press 2 then press 1 ·

New Customers

888-218-0467
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 8am-1am, Sat 8am-10pm, Sun 8am-10pm EST · Press 1 to order service, press 2 for customer service ·

Technical Support

800-788-3600
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Tell the voice menu "I don't know it" until it asks what your problem is. For Internet with Prism, you must chose the video repair option, then chose prism. · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?

Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for CenturyLink below.

Let us call and talk to CenturyLink for you

Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.

We can get a live person on the line for you

That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this CenturyLink phone number to document the phone system.
Here is how our research team describes the way the CenturyLink phone system greets you: If you are already a customer or calling about a recent order, say "yes" or press 1. If you are not a customer, say "no" or press 2.
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Press 2 then 1
Below are some clips we've found from CenturyLink's phone menus and tips that help give an idea of what you will encounter when you call. We've highlighted why they are important as well:

Heard when the phone system first answers

"Welcome to CenturyLink. Due to the holiday, you have reached us after hours. However, repair assistance is always available. Also, I can help you with things such as placing an order or payments. If it turns out I can't help you, try our website at w w w dot centurylink dot com, or call back during business hours between. Eight AM to six PM eastern. Time, Monday through Friday. Please listen carefully. Our options have recently changed. If you are already a CenturyLink customer or you are calling about a recent order, say yes or press one. Otherwise, say no or press two."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Monday, January 1, 2024 6:38 PM

They may need the phone number on your account

"Welcome to CenturyLink. You have reached us after hours. However, repair assistance is always available. Also, I can help you with things such as placing an order or payments. If it turns out I can't help you, try our website at w w w dot centurylink dot com, or call back during business hours between. Eight AM to six PM eastern time, Monday through Friday.
If you are already a CenturyLink if you are already a CenturyLink customer or you are calling about a recent order, say yes or press one.
Otherwise if you are already a CenturyLink starting with the area code, please say or enter a ten digit number associated with your account or your nine digit billing account number."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Monday, June 3, 2024 10:03 PM

They may ask your reason for calling (instead of a menu)

"If you don't know it, say, I don't know. Thank you. Let's continue.
Gathering some additional information.
Please tell me what you're calling about."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Friday, March 15, 2024 9:09 PM

They may ask you to enter information with the dial pad

"If this is correct, say that was In order to help you, we need your account number or your phone in order Please enter the five digit ZIP code for the address you are calling about."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Monday, June 3, 2024 10:03 PM

They may ask you to say or enter information

"Welcome to CenturyLink.
It Still checking.
Say or enter the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 9:12 PM

The first phone menu

"Welcome to CenturyLink. Starting with the area code, please say or enter a ten digit number associated with your account or your nine digit billing account number.
If you are already a CenturyLink customer or you are calling about if if you are already a CenturyLink customer, or you are calling about a recent order, say yes or press one.
Otherwise, say no or press two."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 3:49 PM

After you press 2

"For new CenturyLink service, say new customer or press one.
To report a dangerous condition such as a line down or damaged telephone pole, say damage or press two."
Excerpt from a call with CenturyLink
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 9:26 PM

What are the hours and when should I call?

CenturyLink operates the call center for this 800-201-4099 phone number Mon-Fri 8am-6pm CT. The short answer is that you should call on a Thursday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 1,561 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).

Automatically call when they open

When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, it will automatically wait until the CenturyLink call center opens before trying to call. It will ask your permission before it places the call, so you can also further delay that scheduled call until you are ready. But that means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this CenturyLink phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like CenturyLink staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call CenturyLink is Friday. The most busy day to call is Monday, which averages 43% more phone calls by comparison. Again, this is based on a sample of 1,561 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Mon
Busiest
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Quietest

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Thursday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Tuesday, which is 1455% longer than the minimum. As you can see, there is more fluctuation in hold time over the course of the week than there is in call volume.
But if you use our free call and talk for me or wait on hold for me service, you don't really need to worry about average wait times.
Mon
Tue
Longest
Wed
Thu
Shortest
Fri

The best time to call CenturyLink

In summation, the best day to call CenturyLink is Thursday. It isn't the least busy day, but the fact that hold times are shortest combined with it being on the busy side tells us that CenturyLink staffs up on Thursday to handle the higher call volume, and that makes it the best time to call.

Calling this CenturyLink Customer Number

Christian Allen is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Oct 24, 2023

Calling this number for CenturyLink was slightly confusing, but eventually, I did get to talk to someone, and they were able to assist me and answer my questions. I assumed that I had CenturyLink service because that is the internet provider that I signed up with, but apparently, someone else under their umbrella handles my area service. So I got transferred to another customer service line, which was a bit unexpected. However, the agent, Dora, explained the system to me when I spoke with her, and she was clear and helpful. Therefore, I wouldn't call this an entire waste of my time. 

My original reason for calling was that I noticed that my bill was slowly sneaking up, and I wanted to see if they had any new promotions to offer me. I just wanted to talk to a sales agent because I know many times they can offer you promotions that you cannot find online on your own. Given that they are an internet provider, I bet there are thousands of reasons people could need their assistance. From technical support with internet service that isn't working to complaints about speeds to help with billing, they probably get a lot of phone calls. So the fact it only took me about two minutes to talk to someone was actually impressive. 

When I first called, after an introduction, it said, "If you are already a customer or calling about a recent order, press 1 or say yes. Otherwise, say no or press 2." I pressed 1, and then it asked me to input a ZIP Code. This is where it got funny because the voice assistant stated, "Brightspeed is now servicing your account," and then I was moved to another service line. It only took a second, though, and a new voice assistant said welcome to Brightspeed and offered this directory: "If you are calling to sign up for a new service, press 1. If you are an existing customer, press 2. If you recently placed an order, press 3. If you need technical support, press 4."

I pressed 2, and then almost immediately, I was transferred to Dora, who spoke clear English and explained to me why I got moved. She also helped review available options and promotions that I could opt into, which helped reduce my bill. Overall, I would call again if I had any issues with my internet. 

Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Why Customers Call CenturyLink

If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call CenturyLink, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.

Is CenturyLink the Cheapest Internet Service?

Centurylink offers some of the best internet and phone bill plans in the market, and it is always advisable to negotiate a good deal if you are not comfortable with the rate offered. Due to the no price hikes and no contracts in their plans, you can choose them if you work on a budget all year round.

How Do I Recover My CenturyLink Account?

There are several ways you can recover your CenturyLink account. You can try to recover your account on the CenturyLink website, in the CenturyLink mobile app, or by calling customer service. If you are still having trouble accessing your account, you can visit a CenturyLink store or send an email to customer service.

Is CenturyLink Internet Service Any Good?

Centurylink is a popular internet service provider that is available in most of the continental United States. It has two service plans available, with slightly higher than average rates but few fees. The company offers a few extras, but has below-average customer service. Download speeds can vary by region, but the fiber optic option can be good for gaming.

Top CenturyLink customer service problems

Click the link above to get answers to just about any CenturyLink customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Below is a sample of recent calls to CenturyLink, and their purpose. Are any of these similar to the reason you are trying to call?
Report cut Internet line: "I need to get a Internet line fixed."
- From a call lasting 23m 57s , Oct 25, 2024 5:42 PM
Account vacation hold request: "I need to make sure that our account is on a winter hold."
- From a call lasting 32m 20s , Oct 25, 2024 3:22 PM
Vacation hold request: "I'd like to put it on vacation hold starting the twenty seventh of this month."
- From a call lasting 11m 52s , Oct 24, 2024 4:58 PM
Online bill payment issue: "I was trying to find out why we're not able to pay our bill online."
- From a call lasting 13m 44s , Oct 24, 2024 4:15 PM
Discontinue service: "Hey. You're closing our account at One Bank."
- From a call lasting 36m 19s , Oct 23, 2024 5:09 PM
Information about why customers call CenturyLink is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
CenturyLink issues reported to GetHuman

More CenturyLink Customer Service Contacts

There are of course other ways to contact CenturyLink customer service besides the phone. Below we list the best ones, by medium.

CenturyLink Customer Service Live Chat

centurylink.com - Customer Service
Once you arrive at their help page by clicking this link, click "Chat" in the lower left corner
If phone-based customer service is not available, or the wait times are long, many people prefer chat as a next-best option. Some even prefer it to calling on the phone. Luckily, CenturyLink provides this option.

CenturyLink Customer Service on X (formerly Twitter)

twitter.com/centurylinkhelp - Customer Service
Use the link to connect with customer service through Twitter
CenturyLink, like many companies, provides customer service on the X platform (formerly Twitter). While it rarely entails live dialogue with a customer service rep, this channel can yield rapid response times and can be a useful option if you have an X/Twitter account.

CenturyLink Customer Help Desk / Web Support

centurylink.com - Customer Service
Online customer service support
As a last, sometimes only, resort- CenturyLink customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.

Conclusion and closing notes

This is CenturyLink's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a CenturyLink agent. This phone number is CenturyLink's best phone number because 39,744 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-201-4099 include Setup Service, Lower My Bill, Transfer Service, Technical Support, Cancel Service and other customer service issues. The CenturyLink call center that you call into has employees from Louisiana, Idaho, Washington, Nebraska and is open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm CT according to customers. In total, CenturyLink has 4 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to CenturyLink representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.

GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for CenturyLink. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like CenturyLink. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.

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